Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup

A warm bowl of hearty loaded baked potato soup is perfect for cold winter nights! This recipe takes less than an hour to make, with simple ingredients that come together in a dish that tastes anything but! Best enjoyed alongside your favourite garden salad, or with some crusty bread, and good company!

Note: If you don't have an Instantpot, you can make this recipe with any standard pressure cooker, or on the stove, with extra cook time. For traditional stovetop prep, add approximately 15 minutes to cook time for potato mixture.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon salted butter
1 large yellow onion, diced
6-10 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
32oz chicken stock
6 cups (approximately) peeled yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
Salt and pepper to taste
¾ - 1 cup cream cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and then chopped
6 green onions, sliced or cut with scissors
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated or shredded

Directions

Prep and Assembly:

Dice onion

Peel and mince garlic

Chop up cooked bacon

Grate cheddar cheese if using a block

Plug in Instant Pot and press the "Sauté" button

Wait a few seconds for a beep letting you know the pot is heating up

Add 1 tablespoon of butter and stir until it's melted.

Add diced onion and sauté until slightly soft, stirring occasionally.

Add minced garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, stirring consistently, being careful not to let it burn.

Add chicken stock to deglaze any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Use a spoon or spatula to scrape the bits off the bottom.

Add diced potatoes and press the "Cancel" button.

Securely place the lid onto the pot and twist it into place (it will make a musical tone when you do this correctly).

Turn valve on top of the lid to "Sealing".

Press the "Pressure" button and set the time to 10 minutes, the Instantpot will beep several times when it begins to pressurize.

The pot will take a few minutes to come up to pressure. The timer will automatically start counting down once pressure is at the correct level. You can check for proper pressure by looking at the small "button" on the lid near the valve; if it is popped up, proper pressure has been achieved.

Once the 10 minutes are up, carefully move the lid's valve to "Venting" and allow steam to release from the valve. Stay clear of the steam to avoid getting burned!

When the steam has stopped escaping, open the pot and set the lid aside.

Blending soup and finishing touches:

Unplug the Instant Pot and use an immersion blender to carefully blend the brothy cooked potato mixture (leave some chunks in tact). If you don't have an immersion blender, you can achieve a similar texture by using a potato masher and stirring consistently throughout mashing.

Add cream cheese to the pot and stir until it melts and fully combines with the soup.

Add most of the diced bacon pieces, reserving some for topping, and stir to combine.

Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Serve topped with sharp cheddar cheese, green onions and bacon crumbles

Adapted from a recipe from www.dailyrebecca.com